


Undercover Boyfriend: The Graphics Masterpost

by ZephyrChrysalis



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, NSFW Graphics, Romantic Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-11-30 20:10:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11470785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZephyrChrysalis/pseuds/ZephyrChrysalis
Summary: Two men, one lie, and a whole bunch of trouble.Castiel Novak’s in serious trouble. His sister’s destination wedding in Mexico filled with several days of activities, is in only two days. And everyone expects to meet his Alpha boyfriend — the one he invented. Now Cas has to produce a half-naked hottie or suffer the worst humiliation of his life. But Cas just doesn’t date those kinda guys! Or even know any for that matter.Undercover FBI agent Dean Winchester’s cover is blown and he needs to disappear fast. When he ducks into a bar he runs into Castiel, a comic book artist, one very hot, but geeky Omega. And as luck would have it he just happens to be looking for an Alpha.Could they be the solution to both their problems? Or will trouble find them on the sandy beaches of Mexico?





	1. The Cover

My goal for this cover was to hit the right Harlequin-esque style! 

I have to admit to never actually having read a Harlequin romance, so, I did some research! I poured through a bunch of covers from the Harlequin site to see how they were constructed. Once I had a few ideas I set out to create my own!

**THE STYLE**

I noticed that each of the Harlequin genres had their own indendifiers. The strictly romance had a header with a rose, the western ones had a completely different look, the suspense ones had their own headers and sidebars.

For this cover I wanted one of my own. I created a background of blue and green in a nod to the color of Jensen's and Misha's eye color. 

Deciding on the typefonts I use is as important to me as creating the images. I consider typefonts as part and parcel of creating good graphics. For this part I needed one that looked appropriate for a suspense romance. For the header and the credits I used one called Goldeneye.

  


**THE COVER IMAGE**

There are so many steps and layers in this cover! After going through my stash of images of Jensen and Misha, I knew exactly which shot of Jensen I wanted to use. 

**First Step: Jensen**  
I've had the photos from Jensen's photo shoot from the China Harper's Bazaar for a while now. And while I love all of them, the image I used here is a particular fave. And I thought it was perfect for this cover. After isolating him several times I decided to keep some of the original background from the shoot, and take away the bits that I didn't want as well as building up some areas to fill out the image I wanted.

**Second Step: Background**  
Finding the right background to use that gave me that beach resort feel. After going through tons of photos, I gathered about 12 and then wittled that down to three. It was actually the third one that I tried that gave me the right feel and look that I wanted.

But, there was a bunch of furniture in it that had to go. And removing the furniture also removed the floor, so, I needed a new floor. And, eventually, I'd need a new floor!

**Third Step: Castiel**  
Now... he was the most difficult. I knew, right off the bat, that I wanted Misha in sunglasses. I love his eyes, but him in sunglasses kind of makes me swoon just a bit. To start, I needed the right head shot of Misha. And I had several that would work. Then I needed the right body double for him and it had to be sitting!

A sitting body double was the problem. You have no idea how many different ways there are to sit and how many different body orientations they are. And to do a proper manip the head and body must fit right and be in the right direction!

I tried so many different types and I knew that I wanted to show Cas drawing. I finally, had to let that go, but I could still do a nod to Cas as an artist. 

I finally found the right body. Right size, right orientation, fit Misha's actual body fairly closely. Maniping on the head shot was nearly seamless and I was quite happy with what I had. One tiny problem... my body didn't have shoes. So, I had to put some on him. Not quite as easy as it sounds, but my Cas absolutely had to have shoes!

**Fourth Step:**  
Castiel needed the right chair to sit in. I found a few, but they all had arms. Ultimately, I just took the arms off. 

**Fifth Step:**  
Creating the drawing that Cas was doing of Dean.

**Sixth Steps: The Floor**  
Putting in a new floor was not as easy as I'd hoped it would be. Finding the right floor was another story. I went through several. Created three. Tossed them all and went looking again. I finally found the stone one that I used. Getting it laid down took 22 layers in varying shades. Plus, I wanted to it to look like it was in 2 layers so that Cas would appear to be a step down. 

A step down would help my Cas be in a better perspective.

**Final Steps: The Extras**  
Dean's Gun, which was tucked under the chair on which he's perched. His badge was tucked into his hand.

The planted urn and side table to the right of Cas. The planted urn was created from a single stone urn and two different tropical plants. The table, I got lucky. I found the one that would work, isolated it and dropped it in.

**Finishing: The Shadow**  
A lot of people make the mistake of not putting in any shadowing. The shadowing is what gives final dimensions. Once those were in, I had a final finished image.

  


**THE TITLE**

Titling is always super important to me. For this cover I originally was going to use something that looked like a marker. The type of marker that Castiel would use for drawing. I downloaded several and tried the title in several different orientations. Finally, I went back to the font, Goldeneye, that I used for the other parts of the cover. However, this time I manipulated the spacing.

With all the pieces in place the cover was done! I have to admit to being very pleased with the outcome. I hope you like it as well!

  


I've had a terrific time working on this story with Cassie! The graphics for this fic were so much fun!  
Now, go read [**Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  


  



	2. Chapter Headers

These were quite simple. The font I'd originally intended to use for the cover title, I used here.  
The font is called Fresh Marker and I know it reads very close to how handwritten print marker looks.

I added different hand done 'rules' or underlines in various colors. I chose the colors based on comic book  
colors including a nude color that would be used for flesh.

  


  


  


  


  


  


  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	3. Scene Separators: Chapter One

Scene Separators are tricky in any story. They can either enhance or detract. I like to make scene separators that while they separate do not detract but support the story as it's unfolding.

For this story I wanted to try to hit a balance between seps that would reflect both Dean and Castiel as well as them as a couple.

The cartoon-ish bursts are a direct nod to Castiel's profession as a comic book artist. They were fun to make!

Original Size:

Size as it appears in the fic:

  


* * *

  


Original Size:

Size as it appears in the fic:

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	4. Scene Separators: Chapter Two

This Dean image was taken from a screen capture from Season six. I manipulated the coloring and saturation levels on the photo and then cropped it to reveal the focus I wanted.

Original Size:

Size as it appears in the fic:

  


* * *

  


To create the markers used in the scene sep, I started with one. After isolating the pen, I also isolated the two tips and the two squiggles of ink. These seps allowed me to change the tips and squiggles to other colors to reflect some of the most used colors in comic book illustrations.

Original Size:

Size as it appears in the fic:

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	5. Scene Separators: Chapter Three

I chose pancakes as the separator for the first part of chapter 3 to enhance the breakfast our guys share. To create the sep I was lucky to find a great illustration of a stack of pancakes.

I added the type in one of four fonts that were particularly gathered for this story. This type was manipulated in a soft curve to mimic the roundness of the stack.

After running the pancake stack through a couple of filters to make it look more 'drawn' I applied the type.

Original size:

Size as it appears in the fic:

  


* * *

  


This is one of the simplest images in the story. It was the image that was inspired the description of the room in the fic.

  


* * *

  


The original image: 

The image as it appears in the fic:

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	6. Scene Image: Chapter Three

The image of Lucifer in the bar where Castiel's sister has her first party to kick off her wedding celebration was a scene both Cassie and I wanted to depict. The first step, finding the right image or head shot of Mark Pellegrino. I thought it would be pretty easy, but it was more difficult than I thought. Mostly, because many of his canon shots are with deteriorated skin. I combed through his personal shots to find what I needed. But, the body that I needed didn't necessarily come with the right head shot. The head shot I wanted was something where he looked a bit smarmy, smug. Luckily, I found what I wanted. Now, I needed a body double. The one I used is of Daniel Craig and his hands were in a near perfect position to also hold a glass! The bar where Lucifer is located is a piece of a larger photo of the bar that was described in the story.

Here are the thumbnails of the different images used to make the composite image of Lucifer in the bar.

  


  


The final image as it appears in the fic:

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	7. Castiel's Drawings Dean - Chapter Four

Castiel's drawing of Dean with a gun that he creates while Dean is sleeping started with this image taken from Season Eight.

Before running this image through several different filters, I needed to repair Dean's ear. There's a green ooze that can be seen coming from Dean's right ear. Once that was repaired, I isolated him from the background and isolated the gun so that it could be enhanced. 

I ran both sets of images, the background and the figure of Dean, through a number of filters. Then I made a composite of the various images at varying levels of opacity to create the final image. I had to add in the smoke from the muzzle of the gun separately.

Once I had my final composite, I added it to a drawing pad, gently removed some of the perimeter of the final image. Finally, I shadowed the edges of the pad and the image was completed.

  


* * *

  


Castiel's drawing of Dean that appears on the cover of the story was used here as well. It started with another image from Jensen's photo shoot for China's Harper's Bazaar. 

Again, the original image was run through several filters and then layered in various opacities to create the final image. After layering that image onto the drawing pad image, I took away parts of the perimeter to make it look more hand drawn.

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	8. Scene Images: Chapter Four

There were several images that Cassie and I wanted to depict in this chapter. 

The first image was the Beach Party. This final image was comprised from several others:

The Finished Image prior to cropping for final insertion into the fic.

  


* * *

  


These are the images that were used to compile the finished image. The only component that isn't depicted here are the chairs I isolated and built to increase the sizing of the chairs that were set up in the image.

To increase the perspective of depth, I placed the Birds of Paradise and repeated the palm tree four times in the foreground. Once my components were compiled, I drew in opaque shadows to better enhance the feeling of night time.

Since Dean and Cas look out from the restaurant and see the location for the wedding ceremony, I though this was the perfect spot to give a bit of a sneak of it as well.

Image as it appears in the fic:

  


* * *

  


The image of sleeping Cas was created from these two images plus a bit of shading and color manipulation. 

I really wanted to make a simple Cas sleeping image because when I read the story, I pictured Dean on the balcony talking to Sam about the op and watching Castiel sleeping peacefully. I could not resist! Hope you like it!

The image as it appears in the fic:

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	9. Scene Images: Chapter Five

Our two guys walking on the beach was another very simple image. It was cropped from a larger image of two men walking on a beach. I had to manipulate it very little. I just needed to add to the background so that the image would be longer.

  


* * *

  


When our guys go take a rest in the hammocks I had the perfect image! Cassie had the same one and we so wanted it in the story, but the coloring was all wrong! I could not find an image of a couple in another hammock, so I set out to make the image we had a bit more daylight looking. Plus, the original was quite blurred and I wanted to try to sharpen it up a bit.

Here's the original image:

After several layers that were manipulated for color and saturation I was closer to a more daylight looking image. I was able to find another thatched roof to overlay onto the existing image. The original image didn't highlight the thatch as much as I would have liked.

This is the image as it appears in the fic:

  


* * *

  


Here are thumbnails of the images that were used to create the briefcase image. I also created another layer to the briefcase as described in the story.

This is the image as it appears in the fic:

  


* * *

  


The original image that ends the chapter of our guys in bed was, again, a fairly simple addition. I really liked this original image but I needed darker-haired men. After a couple manipulations of color, I was able to get what I wanted. Then I just needed the image to look more like it was a night time image.

This is the image as it appears in the fic:

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	10. Burst Separators: Chapter Five

Within Chapter 5 are two of the more cartoon-style scene separators which I think of a bursts.

The first, Shazam, was just fun and seemed to be the perfect expletive for Castiel's parents being so accepting of Dean.

The original size:

The size as it appears in the fic:

  


* * *

  


What better way to say SEALED WITH A KISS!

The original size:

The size as it appears in the fic:

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



	11. Scene Images: Chapter Six

As with all the other chapter for this story, Cassie and I have tried to choose images that support specific scenes. When I came across this image, I thought it was perfect for the fic and a great support to the hot, steamy, wall sex that we and they enjoy!

I was a bit stumped for a fun comic-book style separator for this section after Dean and Cas have some mind-blowing sex. Cassie showed me a graphic that was a bit different from the others in the fic, but just perfect for this part. I created my own.

There were several scenes to choose from in this final chapter. But I got a particular kick out of the Bride v. Groom football game on the beach! I was able to find a stock photo, but manip'd in Balthazar. I thought this image invoked the fun that Hannah's guest were having!

When I came across this image I just liked it so much and thought it was perfect to support the scene where Dean has his arms wrapped around Cas. When I showed it to Cassie, she agreed!

This image is a tiny bit spoilerish, but Cassie and I thought it would work really nicely in this spot. And it would give us the op to get an image of Sam in the fic!

This image took a lot of layering and building. I needed several elements to create it. Of course, I started with Sam and isolating him from the backgound of the original. Next, I needed a chair and a balcony and a night beach background.

To keep the image cohesive with in this fic, I reused the chair that I have Cas sitting in on the cover and used the same balcony that appears in the thatched-roof bar. Then, placing Sam into deep shadows was exactly what was needed for him to surprise Dean and Cas!

The final image for this chapter was just too good to pass up! Cassie had sent me the image of the two men spooning and we both loved it. I reused the same window and night sky that I used in the image of Sam in the shadows. Before layering in the new background, I also ran the original image through three different filters to achieve the nigh time look that I needed.

  


Now, go read...[ **Undercover Boyfriend**!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11389014/chapters/25503342)

  


  



End file.
